Canada
...of Waterton Park
Tippy top view of Banff National Park
Over Labor day weekend of 2016, I was able to visit (in my biased opinion) one of the most beautiful places in North America: Banff located in Alberta, Canada.
I was visiting Banff with a friend and we wanted to explore the diverse area as much as possible in those 3 short days. On the first day, we visited the Canadian Badlands, also known as Dinosaur Provincial Park. It is known as one of the most saturated areas in the world for prehistoric remains and dinosaur fossils. It was definitely a beautiful site to soak in the deep valleys and soaring spires of the Badlands, but given our limited time there, I wouldn't label it as a must-see.
On the second day, we visited Waterton Lakes National Park, which is the northern part of Glacier National Park in Montana. It was a stunning culmination of bright blue lakes and lofty mountains. From certain trails at Waterton, you are able to trek about 11 miles to the border of Canada and Wyoming which leads into Glacier National Park, which we didn't opt to do. But it clearly exemplifies that nature knows no bounds or borders. It was a truly remarkable place.
On our third and final day, we made it to Banff National Park. We were staying in Calgary, Alberta and the incredibly scenic drive to Banff only took about an hour. When we got there, we stopped in the town of Banff to get our parking pass. While the scenic areas of Banff are truly remarkable to behold, the town of Banff is ridden with roaming tourists and tourist shops. I would recommend staying elsewhere and driving in as the lodges and hotels in the town are bound to be overpriced for the crowded ambiance.
But as for Banff National Park, what a stunning beauty. We decided on completing an 11-mile intermediate hike, concluding at Emerald Lake. It was a challenging hike, though completely worth it. We were even fortunate to spot some Bighorn sheep across the lake, probably as close as I'd want to be from these beautiful, but intimidating creatures.